Dense Breasts & Cancer Risk: What Doctors Don't Tell You

Learn How Breast Density Impacts Cancer Risk With Dr. Liz O'Riordan - Cancer || Dr Liz O'Riordan

If you watch this video you will know more about breast density than 99% of the population. I'll tell you what a dense breast means, whether you know you have dense breasts, what that means when it comes to breast screening, how dense breasts increase your risk of getting breast cancer and much much more.

All the links to the references I've used to research this video are in in the description below.


I'm Dr Liz O'Riordan, a breast cancer surgeon who's had breast cancer three times. I'm an expert in all things breast cancer. If you've got a question - I'll answer it for you

Chapters
00:00 Intro
00:37 Do dense breasts can cause breast cancer?
01:05 What is a dense breast?
01:42 Are dense breasts normal?
02:11 Are dense breasts inherited?
02:28 How do you know if your breasts are dense?
02:43 How do we score breast density?
03:36 How do you find out your breast density?
04:09 How much do dense breasts increase your breast cancer risk?
05:34 Do mammograms miss breast cancers in dense breasts?
07:29 Are there trials looking at how to screen dense breasts?
07:54 What should you do if you have dense breasts?
08:28 How does alcohol increase your breast density?
09:30 How does HRT increase your breast density?
10:48 Do you still need a mammogram if you have dense breasts?
11:28 Do you need extra screening if you have dense breasts?

I’m now an accredited Trusted Information Creator!

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♻️References

HRT

Alcohol

Podcast - So Now I've Got Breast Cancer
👉Instagram @oriordanliz
👉Twitter @Liz_ORiordan
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[colleendooley]

I felt something wasn't right, in my right breast, spring 2022. I was getting concerned after each passing week. I saw my doctor & he rec a mammogram. I was 50, going on 51 yrs old then.
I had my 1st mammogram at age 40, as suggested. I was told i had very dense breasts, that's it.
Life got busy & i didn't have my next one until going on 51.
It took almost 2 months to get me on calendar. Unreal. It came back "normal, " other than i had extremely dense breasts.
I didn't believe this. My intuition kept telling me something wasn't right. I could feel it!
I went back to my Dr to check this out again. If it isn't cancer, whatvis it? I was concerned.
He had me go for a 3D Mammogram & ultrasound. By now i can feel a lump in my outer quadrant of R breast. Again, had to wait well over a month to get scheduled.
They did the 3D, but NOT the ultrasound. The tech came back in & said "Everything looked good, you can go." I was like, what?? Perplexed, I said "what about the Ultrasound?" She said, "oh he said you don’t need it."
I think I looked like a deer in the headlights. Then I said, "what about the lump?" She says, You have a lump? Have you talked to your Dr about that?
I was stunned. I was like, "Umm that why I am here!" She said said, Let me go ask him. I said, Please do!
Tech came back & said, He said you don’t need it. Everything looks good! You can get dressed & go.

I was soooo confused. She left. I was by myself. I thoight, this can't be happening. I walked out into hallway hoping to find her. No one around. ?

I thought i was going crazy! I thought, well, they are the experts. They know what they are talking about. ?

I was by myself at both mammograms. After i got home after this one, NOW September (!), i was SO mad at myself for not sticking up for what I believed to be something wrong & demand the
u/s my Dr ordered!

How can the Radiologist determine NOT to fo an u/s my Dr ordered?
& why did the Radiologist NOT come & talk to me? I would have said, I feel a lump!

Dec 28, 2022 I finally was able to get the damn u/s my Dr ordered months earlier. That Radiologist apologized &;said wished this was done when you were here earlier...

Although he didn't say cancer, he said it was very suspicious. I knew what he meant. The tumor was 4.1 x 3.7 cm 😢

& then, same facility, the very earliest biopsy i could get was Jan 16, 2023.

Unbelievable. This should not have happened to me like this. My 3D Mammogram report & letter sent to me said it was negative & that i was good for another year to schedule annual mammogram.

Biopsy btw was Stage 2, Grade 3, Invasive Ductal Carcinoma. My Oncologist believes it was Stage 3 or 4 as there were uptiks in nodes in my R clavicle, chest & R lung. We did not biopsy those however because so much time had passed, he was worried about delayed treatment as well as possible complications from doing a risky biopsy of those nodes. I moved into chemo swiftly!

Had I not persisted, what i was led tobbelieve was nothing, & that ibwas just crazy in the head, would likely had metastasized & i may not be here today to talk about it!

Thank you for listening! I obviously had to get this off my chest!

[melindavalle]

What a complicated shit bc is. I won’t repeat myself but I commented to the woman below. Your research is GREATLY appreciated. Thank you. I was in your D category and taking HRT. The only problem with this news is that everybody on this sight has bc and it’s too late for us. We need to get this information out to women everywhere before they get it. It really blows my mind that ppl refuse to get mammograms??? Good grief WHY? Why and how can these women not know that bc is real and that it kills if left untreated. My nipples were EXTREMELY tender so I knew something was up.

I’ve been seeing a breast dr since I was 17 because they were SO lumpy that it scared me and my mother to death. I was probably one of the youngest people to get a mammogram when it became available. I clearly remember holding my arms out when seeing my girlfriends or family member so they wouldn’t hug me too tightly because I hurt so badly. The dr said not to worry, that if I felt something like a piece of uncooked rice to come back. Well I felt it, went back, and he explained it was just a dried up milk gland, or something like that. So since I couldn’t tell what was what, I’ve had yearly bc appointments since then.

I was diagnosed two years ago this May. I was 68 years young.

Besides you, I have 5 other women in my prayers at night from this nasty disease. It feels like an epidemic.

❤❤❤

[disymes]

Hi Dr Liz,
I have only recently found your very informative videos. I had HER2+ breast cancer three years ago, went through Chemo, radiation and am now on Tamoxifin. I was told in my early twenties I had dense breasts and am now 63 and my breasts are still dense to this day. I’ve had regular mammograms and ultrasounds for probably the last 20 years now. Breast Cancer really sucks but I am still alive to talk about it. Thank you so much, please keep up the good work, I’ve learnt more in the last three weeks than I have in the last three years❤

[LindaLopez-ir]

In the years prior to being diagnosed with breast cancer (at 62), I had dense and not dense indicated on my post mammogram letter. Is it somewhat subjective? Wish I had known to ask for an ultrasound or MRI. Perhaps my DCIS could have been caught prior to also having IDC. Post treatment I’m having alternating MRI and mammograms every 6 months. Thanks for covering this important topic!

[nikaa]

My new female doctor was the one who told me I had dense breasts, I also have a family history of breast cancer.. She tried to push for an MRI but I was blocked by the hospital because I didn't meet their criteria. I have had benign breast cysts for years and they were causing pain so she had me go for a 3D mammogram and ultrasound. All was ok. I've recently had female doctors and they are amazing when it comes to managing my screenings and tests and looking after me and my mental health. My previous doctor was an older male doctor and I had a very different experience.

[vickygaddis]

I’m a mammo tech now high risk breast physician assistant in the US and this is one of the BEST educational videos I’ve seen on this topic!!! Thank you for what you are doing!!!!

[March]

Curious about caffeine. My gynecologist said to limit to 8 oz a day due to my breast density.

[airamsipuola]

I'm 51. I was told my breasts were dense years ago, and my screenings have always included both mammograms and ultrasound. At that time, I had private insurance through my job (I'm in the US). About 6 years ago, I essentially left my life to go take care of my dad in a different state. I wasn't insured, but was able to get breast screenings through Planned Parenthood, and they too provided ultrasounds. It was through one of those screenings that a lump was discovered last year, and it turned out to be stage 1 invasive ductal carcinoma. I was then placed on Medicaid (a government-based insurance that differs from state to state) for my lumpectomy, radiation, and now, lymphatic drainage massage through occupational therapy. I just had my first post-cancer screening with Medicaid, and it too involved ultrasound.

I didn't realize until watching your video, that ultrasounds and MRIs are not always provided for people with dense breasts, but I'm thankful they have been, through all my types of insurances and charities.

[RCB]

On my first anniversary mammogram the doctor checking the prints came out and asked me if I wanted to see them. She explained about the four categories which I’d never known before, and said I was on the cusp of Category A and Category B. She said” I’m very surprised you had breast cancer”. Well I did so, whilst they might be easier to spot, they still happen. I’m in my mid-60s so that must explain low density.

[BeateSchierle]

Thank you, Liz, this video is simply excellent! Complicated facts and probability calculation, so well explained. Chapeau!

[jodyklimkiewicz]

I was 43 with dense breasts…. I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I’m thankful for the ultrasound after my mammogram!

[patticochran]

I think it’s also important to know that the radiation from a mammogram doesn’t just affect the breast. It affects the chest as well, including the lungs and heart. I think it’s important to understand the amount of radiation that you’re getting during a mammogram. And if you’re having a mammogram annually, you are being affected annually by that radiation in your chest. Nobody ever seems to talk about this aspect of a mammogram. Versus ultrasound that has absolutely no radiation involved.

[catherinesanjuan]

thank you Dr.Liza for sharing the information, it helps a lot in my case..

[thejammiebricker]

Thank you! I didn’t really get any explanation except being told that I should have a check annually due to density.

[Cheryl-tb]

I'm thoroughly convinced that a mammogram saved my life. On July 3rd I had surgery to removed three large kidney stones. My urologist advised me to check in with my GP while my uretral stent was still in place. Turned out, I had an infection. While I was in her office she mentioned she wanted me to have a mammogram since it had been six years since my last one. I went and got it and was called back due to a suspicious finding. I had an ultrasound and then a biopsy and yesterday I got the news---invasive ductal carcinoma grade 1. The radiologist described my tumor as "tiny". No stage yet, but MRI is scheduled and my hormone receptor tests should be back in a week. So if I hadn't gotten that mammogram, who knows how long it would have been left to grow and become palpable? Right now it's too small to feel. I should mention that IDC is the same cancer that killed my identical twin sister in 2010.

[dorothyquarles]

Thank you Dr Liz you said everything in respective. Im a breast cancer patient going through radiation at the present. As i was getting my mammograms yearly I've been told i have dense breast but when my mammograms report came back in the mail, everything looked good. So i had no worries. Instead of them recommending a procedure called the ABUS which if they would have i could have prevented and caught my breast cancer. By then it was too late. So I mentioned please for women with In dense breast to recommend a ABUS on the mammogram report. They maybe able to save many women from breast cancer. Thank you I'm a huge fan of yours.

[akingramsey]

Dr. Liz. I loved all your videos. So informative and very helpful. Thank you 🙏

[libworld]

This is a great video to share, I have been told about my density since I was 36 in Spain where I live and had yearly mammograms because of family history and lots of breast cancer cases in my family and deaths, at 39 they started watching calcifications every 6 months and then at 41 they did a biopsy and it was DCIS. Then I was watched yearly again but triple checked with mri too. Last year I had local recurrance seen on all 3 tests but biopsy could only confirm, they thought it was fat as not clear and it was dcis + idc (5mm x 7mm) so it they said it was stage 1a. I also had an abus scan (a 1st for me) They were annoyed they might have missed it at the DCIS stage and said with density it´s very hard to see. I had smx but considering a preventative surgery on other side, they insist that they will triple check me always but I might move country and they might not do it there, I know in Ireland they don´t where I am from. I think I am so used to the checks ups which would cause me anxiety if I didn´t have them after going through this twice already.

[danielanderson]

My 1st Mammogram was at 40 yrs old based on family history of cancer's. I had one every 3 yrs no issue's until 2013 I had a rescan on my left breast inner outter quadrant and they Said oh its nothing to worry about but in 2018 I Demanded a 3D Mammogram because I had read an article that year about how they see better than the 2D on Dense Breasts and I had been told at 40 I did have Dense Breasts but no category like stated in this video but that would have been in 2007 that I was 40 yrs old.
So October 2018 I had the 3D Mammogram the gynecologist office called me to say all is good, but then the week before Thanksgiving I get a call from the Cancer Center of the Medical Group I go to asking me to come in the day before Thanksgiving for a rescan!
So I get the rescan then the Radiologist Dr wants a Ultrasound so I get that too the same day and he comes in and tells me there's a Suspicious area of around 11mm and said he'd rate it a BIRADS 4C and I should get a biopsy. The earliest I could get into for a biopsy was 12-27-18 and then came the call from that Radiologist Dr on 1-2-19 that I had IDC ER+98% & PR +85% Her2- originally thought Stage1B because they biopsied a few Suspicious lymph node's near the tumor and 1 was positive!
My Grade was 1 the Slowest growing and I saw my oncologist before my surgeon because I wanted additional tests like the BRACA & Oncotype DX - I was Negative on BRACA but have an ATM gene they are currently not considering as a high risk. My Oncotype DX test was low at 13 plus my Ki67 was low at 3% & 6% on different specimens of biopsy.
I didn't do chemo based on all this and I did Lumpectomy
Final Stage2B after surgery as the overall tumor was actually bigger 21mm and 1.5 lymph node's were also positive. My new oncologist says based on growth of Grade 1 cancer it's very possible I had the cancer since 2013 as the cancer was in the very same area as my rescan in 2013 of my left breast. It makes me mad that I never looked into Researching Dense Breasts and 3D Mammograms back in 2013 and feel like it was my PCP's Fault back then that she didn't have me Do a Ultrasound or Breast MRI in 2013, but I didn't have a lump that was ever feelable, not even in 2018!
I have learned Alot by Researching online since my dx and Appreciate YouTube channels like this one with Open minded Dr's that do Research and Share it

Thank you Dr Liz

Best Wishes for you on your Journey.
Beverly

[nhanisn]

Oh boy, just had mammogram and ultrasound so here I am. Learning alot, thank you so much!

The categories checks out -
42 ✅
Dense ✅
D grade ✅
Cysts ✅